UKC

I'm looking at car hire costs and working out if it's cheaper to go with Hertz and just pay for our own petrol, or do one of the deals where you pay for a full tank up front.

We'd be driving from Malaga to El chorro and then to get food and out climbing etc so we'd use it most days. Could probably run a full tank down a fair bit.

Has anyone an idea how much companies seem to be charging at the moment?

In reply to James Malloch:

Haven't been there for a while, but I usually go with gold car, and normally use about quarter of the tank... mind you I stay at the Olive Branch and buy my food for the week at Alora on the way in, so other than perhaps a drive up to Desplomilandia the car tends to sit where it is all week.

In reply to James Malloch:

I'm interested in this thread too as I'm going 15th April.

Really tempted to train/bus or pick up though!

Is a car really necessary for Chorro?

In reply to James Malloch: Hire companies always charge over the odds for fuel - and the ones in Malaga airport are no different. If you are able to get a car that doesn't come with a full tank from the start (and you don't have to return it full), then that sounds like a good option. Otherwise, if you need to return it with a full tank make sure you do so, else they sting you on the cost of topping it up. A bit OT, but make sure you get completely anal about marking every last little scratch and ding on the damage sheet when you first get it, and check under the car for damage too before signing off on it. It's worth checking exactly what the insurance covers on it too (tyres/clutch/underbody etc), some of the roads are a bit crap as you know, particularly if you go over to Loja. We used to get hire cars before the prices got silly (we've got our own car out there now), and after a few weeks we'd have to check it over carefully on the underside to make sure it was OK to return (or effect a repair to those flimsy plastic under-trays with cable ties and the like) - totally depends on which tracks you use though.

In reply to Andypandyroo:

A car can be handy if you want to check out the outlying crags or explore the area on a rest-day, but you don't need a car for climbing - there's plenty of rock in walking distance to keep you occupied for months.

There's only a tiny shop in El Chorro itself, so the main reason for a car is getting to/from the airport, and going to Alora for food shopping, so it depends whether you're self-catering or eating out.

Gary at the Olive Branch will do transfers, so it's possible to get the train to Alora, do your food shopping, and get a lift from there.

In reply to Andypandyroo:

This is some stuff that i typed for a friend so you may as well have it (obviously it relates to a certain time of day but I'm sure you can work it out. Also you will need to check the Renfe site for train times in April):-

Trains from Malaga airport to Alora 16/03/2013:-
Aeropuerto 11:34 (and every 20 minutes)
Malaga Victoria Kent 11:39
Malaga Victoria Kent 11:46 (and about every 1 or 2 hours)
Alora 12:18
(Then by bus to Alora town centre. There is a “Mercanodia”(?) supermarket there).

Trains from Alora to Malaga airport 20/03/2013:-
Alora 18:55 (about hourly though there is no 17:55)
Malaga Victoria Kent 19:28
Malaga Victoria Kent 19:36
Aeropuerto 19:41


Trains from Malaga to El Chorro are infrequent; 10:05 arr 10:43, 16:48 arr 17:30.

Trains from El Chorro to Malaga Wed 20/03/2013:- 09:33, 14:59, 18:03 take about 45 min.

In reply to silhouette:

Cheers for the info, very helpful thanks you!

In reply to James Malloch:

Do you know which car company you'd be renting with, or is it one of those where you don't find out the name until after you've paid?

I've just had a report of Goldcar (albeit in Portugal) charging €97 for a full tank in a Kia Picanto (35 litres). The pump price would have been approx €50. So that's nearly a 100% premium.

Obviously there's the extra €5-10 you lose by not actually managing to bring it back empty. And if you get a car with a big tank, the disadvantage is greater.

To be honest, if the difference to Hertz is less that £50 I would book Hertz without blinking for an easy life. £50-£100 I'd have to think about it. £100 or more and grumpily accept the prepaid fuel as cheapest in the long run.

In reply to James Malloch:

Friends in Barcelona last week paid 110 euros for a saloon car!
Astra here in Alicante is going for around 90 euros at the moment.

Sam Orange

In reply to Sam Mayfield:


Thanks Sam.

The Astra has a 46 or 56 litre fuel tank (http://carleasingmadesimple.com/business-car-leasing/vauxhall/astra/fuel-ta...

Average petrol price in Spain seems to be €1.43 (http://carleasingmadesimple.com/business-car-leasing/vauxhall/astra/fuel-ta... Is that about right for Benidorm?

So at the pump, an Astra should cost €66 (46l) or €80 (56l) to fill up, assuming petrol.

If it's one of the 56l ones, €90 doesn't seem too bad. Only a €10 premium.

In reply to Richard Alderton:


Oops. Correct link is http://www.drive-alive.co.uk/fuel_prices_europe.html

In reply to James Malloch: Many thanks for all of the advice. Might be worth going for Hertz then as we'll only be getting a small car and it's not too much more.

I got picked up by Gary last time and then the train back but the flight times mean it'll be a bit easier for us to just get a car I think. And it'll give us a bit more freedom.

Thanks again, and hopefully we'll get some sun!

In reply to James Malloch: I just got back from Spain and for a full tank of unleaded for a Fiat Panda (35 litre tank) I paid 73.69 euros. So I was charged more than 2 euros a litre when the current cost is arounds 1.46 euros a litre. This was with Budget. A Peugot 208 was around 95 euros for a tank of fuel. As others have said try and get a deal where you get it full and take it back full or get it empty and take it back empty.

Also some rental car companies often charge a fortune for an additional driver (they can charge several euros a day).

Watch out for the excess on the insurance. A small dent could cost you a fortune. On my rental contract the excess was 1000 euros plus a 50 euro admin charge. Fortunately I had taken out separate insurance (back in the UK) for this rather than their very expensive cover. My excess insurance also covered tyre damage.

In reply to James Malloch: unless you travel a fair way fro Chorro you won't use a full tank
We always use Helle Hollis as they have a fair fuel policy i.e.pay up front for full tank but return full and they will return your fuel payment. They will even round the fuel charge to the nearest quarter tank if you don't have time to refuel. They are not the cheapest but overall once you take account of fuel rip offs from other outfits we think they are the best.
Enjoy
Martyn